《Confidence Culture》Elevating Confidence with Culture

Confidence Culture by Rosalind Gill and Shani Orgad is a deep dive into the concept of confidence culture. The authors provide a different perspective, arguing that rather than being against the system, confidence culture turns the problem from political into psychological. They highlight the prevalence of confidence culture within a neoliberal framework, which transfers responsibility onto individuals and emphasizes that women need to change themselves. Additionally, the confidence culture is likely to provide a one-size-fits-all solution regardless of religion, body size, race, social status or gender. Ultimately, the authors call for attention to be placed on changing an unjust world instead of instilling a new layer of discipline for women.

However, like all dissertations, the book doesnt provide a concrete solution to the current status quo. But still, raising awareness is always the first step. For me, this was a very insightful read. It is worth noting that the author has named an American idol, Lizzo, who reminds me of decades ago when “Furong Jiejie” was a rebellion against the “Tyranny of perfect”. Unfortunately, instead of changing public views disruptively, Lizzo has become a joke for many people. But maybe those who think “Furong Jiejie” is a joke are actually ignorant themselves.